Chioma Samuelの小説

CHAPTER 20The silence Daniel left behind didn’t fade. It lingered in the room, a heavy weight that felt unfinished. Andrew hadn’t moved much since the door closed, his thoughts spinning in chaotic circles. Nancy watched him from across the room, arms folded tightly against her chest as if warding off the cold that seemed to seep from Andrew's very being.“Say something,” she finally urged, her voice a gentle prod against the thick air.Andrew exhaled a slow breath, his gaze locked on a distant point. “There’s nothing to say,” he replied in a low murmur.“That’s not true,” she countered, pushing back against his dismissal.“He’s not wrong,” he stated flatly, turning his head slightly, avoiding her eyes.Nancy's frown deepened. “We’re not doing that.”“Who is Daniel but the COO?” Andrew continued, as if her words were lost in the ether. “Second in command. If anything happens, ”“Nothing is happening right now,” Nancy interrupted, her determination cutting through the tension.Andrew f

CHAPTER 19The knock came once. Firm and Deliberate. Not the kind you ignored.Nancy looked up from where she stood, a stack of fresh linens in her arms. “Are you expecting someone?”Andrew didn’t answer, but something in his expression shifted. The tension in the room thickened like a gathering storm.“…No,” he finally replied, his voice tight.The door swung open anyway, revealing James, his posture straight but his tone noticeably careful. “Mr. Cross… Mr. Reeves is here.”A pause.“...He has legal counsel with him.”Nancy frowned. “Legal…?”Andrew’s jaw tightened slightly, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. “...Let him in,” he said, dismissing the discomfort building in his gut.Daniel Reeves stepped in, his entrance imbued with a confidence that felt unsettling. He wasn’t rushed; he was certain, flanked by two lawyers carrying hefty documents like they were shields of authority.Nancy straightened immediately, her instinct flaring. “Wow. This looks official.”Daniel’s

CHAPTER 18Morning came quietly, the soft light filtering through the curtains of Andrew’s penthouse, but he was already awake, lost in his thoughts.Nancy came in soon after, carrying a steaming cup of coffee. “You didn’t sleep,” she observed, her tone dry as she set the cup in front of him.Andrew glanced at her, one brow lifting. “I slept.”“No, you didn’t,” she said, unimpressed.“I rested,” he replied, calm, though a thread of defensiveness slipped through.“That’s not the same thing,” she countered.He accepted the cup, grateful for its warmth. “You’re very observant.”“It’s my job,” Nancy said, tilting her head slightly.He took a sip, letting the rich bitterness cut through the morning haze. “So you were watching me?”She shrugged, a small smile touching her lips. “You asked me to stay.”“That doesn’t mean stare at me all night,” he said, pretending annoyance.“I didn’t stare,” she replied, folding her arms. “I checked.”“It sounds worse,” Andrew muttered, though the corner of

CHAPTER 17The penthouse was quiet, but it was no longer empty in the way it once had been. There was a softness to it now, a sense of lived-in calm that came from Nancy’s presence.She sat curled on the couch, one leg tucked beneath her, phone pressed to her ear. “Yes, Maya, I’m alive,” she said, rolling her eyes. Her free hand moved as if her sister could see the gesture. “Barely surviving, but still breathing.”Andrew sat across from her with a file open in front of him. He didn’t look up. He simply turned a page, the sound cutting softly through the room.“That’s dramatic,” Maya’s voice came through the phone, light and teasing.“It’s accurate,” Nancy replied, a smile tugging at her mouth. “Try living with a control freak for a week.”Andrew shifted slightly, though he kept his gaze on the file.“…I can hear you,” he said dryly.“I know,” Nancy replied, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.Maya laughed on the other end of the line. “Oh, he’s there? Say hi for me.”Nancy smi

CHAPTER 16Andrew was halfway through his coffee, the bitter steam curling up from the mug, when Nancy announced, “We’re going out.”He didn’t bother glancing up from his tablet. “No, we’re not,” he replied flatly.“Yes, we are,” she stated, her tone firm as she rinsed her own cup in the sink.“I went out yesterday,” he countered, setting the mug down with a soft clink.“You went to the hospital,” she corrected, drying her hands on a towel. “That doesn’t count.”“It absolutely counts,” he insisted.“It doesn’t,” she shot back, tossing the towel aside.With a resigned sigh, Andrew set his tablet on the counter, meeting the challenge in her gaze. “…Where?” he asked warily.Her lips curved into a triumphant smile. “Shopping.”Silence enveloped them, the hum of the fridge underscoring the absurdity.Then he declared, “…I’m not going shopping.”“You are,” she replied unwaveringly.“I’m not.”“You’re bored,” she pointed out, leaning against the counter.“I’m not bored,” he denied.Nancy rai

CHAPTER 15Andrew didn’t anticipate the sudden intensity of it that night.He had just slipped off his jacket, the fabric whispering against his skin as the penthouse’s oppressive quiet wrapped around him like a heavy, suffocating blanket, when the cough returned, sharp, unrelenting, clawing at his lungs with fiery insistence.“Sit, Andrew, sit down,” Nancy commanded, her voice cutting through the haze as she moved with urgent grace, chair legs scraping softly on the polished floor.“I’m fine, ” he protested hoarsely, but the words fractured into a violent bout of coughing that doubled him over, his vision blurring at the edges.With determined ease, she guided him to the couch, her hand steady and warm on his arm, the cushions yielding beneath him like a reluctant embrace. “Just breathe. Slowly,” she instructed, kneeling close enough for him to catch the faint citrus of her shampoo.Leaning forward, elbows on knees, he gripped the edge of the seat, knuckles paling as his breath grew